Two weeks ago Thursday, Ms. Serensky raved about the food she typically eats for Thanksgiving. Although the conversation eventually turned absurd, as she declared, “Get me a raft that functions as a floating tray! God, I disgust myself,” I ventured to 7th period thinking about my family’s Thanksgiving the past few years. My initial descriptors included “lame,” “pathetic” and “boring.” I craved the experience Ms. Serensky and my classmates described. Since freshmen year, my family has remained at home for the holiday and has “celebrated” in the absence of extended family. Spending Thanksgiving with only my parents seemed mundane and pathetic to me. At that moment I decided that I would blog about Thanksgiving between 4pm and 6pm on Thanksgiving Day. I would rant about my pathetic family and our lame celebration. I even found a picture for the blog of our pitiable table on my phone from last year’s Thanksgiving (see first picture below). I hyped myself up for this blog for the better part of two weeks. However, as Thanksgiving Day concluded, I realized my hopes for an epic Thanksgiving-bashing blog would never come true. I had actually enjoyed myself! As I sat down to begin my blog, I reflected on the day. I realized I had spent almost every hour with my parents, either watching the parade, commenting on the dog show, playing ping-pong or viewing movies. Our dinner was not unlike any other year’s dinner (see second picture below) yet the day seemed much more enjoyable than the previous Thanksgivings. I realized the catalyst for this change was not the amount of food on the table, but instead, the increased amount of time I spent interacting with my parents. I concluded that time well spent with those you love is more valuable than anything material, food or otherwise. I decided at once to cherish the remaining hours with my parents and write my blog the next day, with a more positive and grateful attitude than originally intended. This year, I am thankful for my wonderful and loving parents and the holiday of Thanksgiving, which helped me learn this life lesson.
This is a very warm message, that family is ultimately most important. I could not agree more with you Emily. As I grow older I focus less on the food that is on the table and more on the time spent with my family. Thanksgiving is very unique because it is purely about family and I think that is why everyone enjoys the holiday so much. It is a great life lesson to learn and I think I have learned something very similar this year.
ReplyDeleteEmily, I completely understand your preconceived perception of Thanksgiving. The prospect of spending a large amount of time with family never sounds like much fun, but in the end may produce more enjoyable times and memories than time spent elsewhere. This Thanksgiving we even spent most of the dinner talking about Harry Potter. What's better than that? Ultimately, I agree with your idea that as we get older, we learn to appreciate our families more and more.
ReplyDeleteEmily, this really reminds me of my family's Thanksgiving celebration, we are Canadian so all our relatives celebrate in October. Like you, I have always harbored a degree of envy for the large gatherings of extended family other people describe. But over the years I have also found an appreciation for the quiet Thanksgivings I can share with just my parents and brother every year. Although we do not have the festively chaotic atmosphere a houseful of aunt, uncles, and cousins might bring, we can focus more attention on each other and that is something I am thankful for.
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